Josie Rourke is the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse. Josie was born in Salford and studied at Cambridge University. She trained as a theatre director at the Donmar Warehouse and the Royal Court.

Previously, Josie was the Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre, where she opened its new home in 2011. While at the Bush, Josie premièred the first and early plays of, amongst others, James Graham, Lucy Kirkwood, Nick Payne, Penelope Skinner and Jack Thorne.

Above: Opening of the new Bush Theatre, 2011.

Josie has directed productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, the Sheffield Crucible, the Royal Court and Sonia Friedman Productions.

Above: Men Should Weep (2010) by Ena Lamont Stewart at the Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre. Photo: Manuel Harlan.

Notable productions at the Donmar include: Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston; Saint Joan with Gemma Arterton; Berenice with Anne-Marie Duff; Conor McPherson’s The Weir; Nick Payne’s new play Elegy; and the innovative and campaigning Privacy, by James Graham.

The Vote, co-created with James Graham, was broadcast live by Channel 4 on the night of the 2015 general election. It was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA.

Above: The Vote (2015) by James Graham with Catherine Tate and Tim West. Photo: Johann Persson.

Josie’s production of City of Angels won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.

Above: City of Angels (2014) by Cy Coleman, Larry Gelbart and David Zippel with Hadley Fraser. Photo: Johann Persson.

Josie’s productions in New York include Privacy at the Public Theater with Daniel Radcliffe,Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber on Broadway and The Machine by Matt Charman at The Park Avenue Armory. Above: Privacy (2016) by James Graham with Daniel Radcliffe and Edward Snowden. Photo: Joan Marcus.

In 2017, Josie will direct her first feature film, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. The film, which is about Mary Queen of Scots, has an original screenplay by Beau Willimon and is being produced by Working Title and Focus Features.